Anyone else not able to notice any difference in tyres ?

I think it will depend on your riding style and location. If you ride steep / soft / wet / rooty you will notice.

also different tyres will allow different pressures and have better / worse rolling resistance.

There is, in fairness, not a huge difference between good tyres. I tend to stick with the same tyre style I have used for years as familiarity is always good

I can tell difference between carcass size ( comfort) and rolling resistance but rarely is grip any more noticeable to me between brands/ compounds.

I guess  it depends a lot on where you ride though, I tend to avoid mud and grass in poor conditions and look to ride on well drained surfaces when it's wet. 

Yes, massively

Old specialized tyres (butcher/purgatory) tried to kill you, wet or dry

Ultra soft magic Mary's give incredible grip. Switching to a normal soft on the back the front end will stay in check, but the back will occasionally break away, but printable and controllable.

Currently on soft Eddy Currents front and back and they are giving me a decent level of grip.

I do ride on the ragged edge of my skills a lot of the time though

Apart from one or two total howlers over the years I don't notice much difference.

I'd be able to tell the difference between categories of tyre i.e. I'd notice a hard conditions tyre not working in the mud but it's unlikely that I'd notice the difference between two mud tyres in the mud.

I do wonder if the amount some riders agonise over it is a bit the emperors new clothes.

I'm like this (and I bet a lot more are secretly) about lots of bike parts.

3k bike or 6k bike,I wouldn't notice the difference. Apart from maybe weight when putting it in the car...

I've used Nobby Nics for what feels like forever... New bike I have Maxxis (assegai front and something else on the rear). Now, i'm sure they are excellent tyres, and I got the expensive versions, but the grip is perceptively different to the Nobby Nics....

I'm not saying they are worse, just different, but I was so used to where the Nic's lost grip, or where the transition was from centre tread to side tread.... I'm not 100% sure the Maxxis will stay on....

Swap out your SE5 for a pair of XR1's and I think you'll notice a difference!

I can notice differences between tyres, but like Klunky says, it depends where you're riding. Whizzing round a trail centre I might notice rolling resistance on the back, but that's about it. Bouncing in straight lines down dark peak gritstone trails, I don't notice a lot. Sketchy steep muddy woods and you can feel loads of difference in braking, cornering, lateral grip that you wouldn't spot elsewhere.

That said, I don't know if I would notice any difference between a DHF and a DHF rip-off from another brand, where there are definite differences between a DHF and a DHR.

Half the change is probably comparing worn tyres to new ones, mind.

I think I’m a surfaced trail centre most tyres will work - especially if it’s dry.

When things get murky and wet and steep and covered in roots / loose ground then different tyres make a huge difference to me.

For example there’s a greasy steep ish decent in the local woods - the ground there is red and a little bit clay like. Around now if you tried to descend that on anything other than a Hillbilly / 2.6” Magic Mary type tyre there are a couple of spots where you’re going to struggle to make your turn. I had this last year - went the 1st week when I had a wild enduro on and it clogged / went straight on at one point. Next week in similar conditions I’d changed for a hillbilly and it braked better on the way down the steep bit and just turned perfectly where the WE went straight on.

Tyres are maybe the only thing I do notice.

Suspension goes up and down and to me it's all the same but good  tyres makes all the difference. There are some tyres I just don't get on with.

Good Road tyres I can't really tell the difference

Apart from one or two total howlers over the years I don’t notice much difference.

I’d be able to tell the difference between categories of tyre i.e. I’d notice a hard conditions tyre not working in the mud but it’s unlikely that I’d notice the difference between two mud tyres in the mud.

I do wonder if the amount some riders agonise over it is a bit the emperors new clothes.

Actually, having thought about it, I do notice some differences between tyres but unless it's something disastrous, I'd usually adapt my riding to it rather than change the tyre.

Doubt I could tell similar rear tyres apart on a blind test. 

Front tyre is a different story - think it's one of the most important components on the bike. Rare MTB example of something where small differences matter and can be felt riding.

My first two decent bikes were specialized which came with purgatory tyres fitted.  For years I thought they were decent tyres and were much cheaper to replace than other brands.  Then one day I decided to try minions and holy Jesus they were so much better it made me realise that the purgatory just weren't as good on the trails I was riding.  So much more corner and braking grip.

I think compound makes a difference, but at the same time, I think the major manufacturers have got that pretty much nailed. I'd happily run a front tyre from Schwalbe or Maxxis I think they both make excellent tyres. I think it comes down to what you feel confident riding, I've been more or less exclusively on Maxxis for years now, so I know how they'll perform, and for instance I "know" that I don't have much confidence in a DHF on the steep stuff in Calderdale, but I'll be fine on a DHR, or Assegi. I've put that in scare quotes becasue that's based primarily on a couple of rides a few years ago when a partly worn out DHF, I'm pretty sure if I stuck a new one on tomorrow, It'd be fine. 

Find the tyre that performs well for you, and it's a revelation. 

Probably depends on the type of tyres your using - there's minimal difference between a maxxis minion and a conti kriptotal on the front, but as soon as I put a conti Argotal on, there's a huge noticeable difference (all 2.6)

I think compound makes a difference

I put my big boy pants on and raced with a Forecaster Mk1 in the wet yesterday.  despite the lack off/low knob height it was amazing - all to do with the compound.

I've avoided Maxxis as I'm not a "leaner" and had some scary moments with the transition with a High Roller many years ago,  However my Occam came with a DHF/Dissector maxterra combo and I find them remarkable.

Doubt I could tell similar rear tyres apart on a blind test.

Front tyre is a different story – think it’s one of the most important components on the bike. Rare MTB example of something where small differences matter and can be felt riding.

I agree with this.

It's one of the few bits of MTB kit that I'm pretty sensitive to and clued-up on the difference it makes.

By contrast, I can tell when something is off with my suspension but it's rare that I can accurately feel what the problem is. Getting better at that, but still trial-and-error a lot of the time.

I tend to notice they differ in price a fair bit.

As above, conditions dictate. Summer any old tyre works, Winter or wet weather I'll swap to something specific to where I'm riding. Or go to the pub instead.

same bike i run se5/se4 and xr3/xr2 there's definitely a time and a place for each

My full sus i tried a HR2/SS combo for the summer which was mostly good, until i went into steep loamy stuff and had the worst time, i historically run a dhf/dhr and swap the front for a shorty for the worst of winter

i cant really tell the difference between my aggressive sets of tyres. but between the aggressive, xc and "trail" set there is definitely differences. I can feel the drag/speed differences. and i can feel sketchy when taking the tyres out of their optimum conditions

(I think STW Benji just took a deep intake of breath....)

Yes I can. More on the 'that is not great in comparison' end of the spectrum though.

I fond that I can feel suppleness and their ability to absorb some of the trail chatter.
I can definitely feel ultimate grip levels - compare a small blocked XC tyre with a Magic Mary for example.
I can also feel that some tyres 'let go' in different ways. So my Goma's are brilliant up until they let go quite suddenly, whereas I found my older XR4's and Mountain Kings (black chilli) 'smear' when then go.
I found my cheap OEM Nobby Nics to be fast but completely awful in any damp, and yet when I put on aftermarket Nobby Nic's they seem to be more predictable and hold on better when braking particularly.

Nope, I can definitely tell the difference especially when the going gets steeper/rougher.

In fact I can tell the difference when I've too little/much pressure in the tyres - but TBH same with cars & motorbikes (racing them too), always have had the 'feel'.

OP, if you change the tyre pressures can you 'feel' they're different?

Also, maybe if you'd just own & ride the same bike for longer than a month you'd start to get a 'feel' for changes...

OP, if you change the tyre pressures can you ‘feel’ they’re different?

Not really.

Also, maybe if you’d just own & ride the same bike for longer than a month you’d start to get a ‘feel’ for changes…

Ho ho... so amusing.

Yes I can feel the difference just after I've changed tyres.

I can also feel the difference between pressures.

Pink Bike did a series of interviews on this last year, and it was interesting that most of the industry insiders seemed to feel that compound was more important than tread pattern.

Having said all that, I learn to ride around the limitations of the tyres. Also everything is a compromise. Excellent grip invariably means more rolling resistance.

I used to be on Maxxis, as they're excellent, however I'm in the process of transferring to Specialized as I think the cost benefit ratio is better.

Not really.

blimey - I can really tell the difference in tyre pressures.

weeksy - you used to do a lot of motorbike trackdays, didnt you?

Could you feel the difference in different tyres, or even pressures on your motorbike? I used to do car trackdays in a caterham 7, and the difference between different tyres was significant.

Could you feel the difference in different tyres, or even pressures on your motorbike?

I once took my motorbike for a spin down the B184 after not having used it for a while. Felt the back wheel squirm in every corner and came back thinking the roads were really greasy.

Turns out the back tyre was at 4 psi....

OP, if you change the tyre pressures can you ‘feel’ they’re different?<br />Not really.

I'm a bit confuzzled (doesn't take much). You seem to spend a lot of time fettling with different shocks because you can feel the subtle differences, yet you can't tell any differences in changing tyre pressures?

Apologies if it appears I'm picking on stuff you say, I'm not per se - but you do put a lot of info on here and some of it seems conflicting.

A few (2-3) psi makes a hell of a difference to how my bikes feel

blimey – I can really tell the difference in tyre pressures.

weeksy – you used to do a lot of motorbike trackdays, didnt you?

Until recently i ran 20F 22R the same as my lad.. Recently i've gone to 24F 26r but i can't say i've even noticed no. I was reading a bit about what pressures the Enduro racers were running and they were all higher than my 20/22, so thought i'd experiment with higher pressures. Most of that was on the Slayer on completely different rubber to the current SE5's, but i set them to 24/26 when i got the bike and that's what i've ran since.

I've done 150+ trackdays and 4 years of racing motorbikes. I wasn't great in terms of feel on those i'll admit, some people went faster on new Supercorsas/Racetecs, i fitted a few for races but still went the same on them as i did on old tyres. In terms of pressures, i rarely changed pressures, i just ran whatever we were told by the tyre techs, so i didn't experiment much. But since the racing days i've done plenty of trackdays (until i stopped riding bikes about 12 months ago) and even using different tyres, from touring tyres to full race compound, i can't say i noticed a massive difference. My 'pace' is my pace, irrespective of what i've got on there really, that's how fast i went, just me speed.

Just swapped over from spesh hillbilly 2.6 and eliminator 2.6 old gripton both with rimpact inserts over to new hillbilly 2.4 t9 and butcher 2.3 t9 both trail carcass without inserts. The carcass is considerably more rigid, hoping the new compound/reduced width will work better in mud/loam and wet roots on Exmoor. Will report back if I can tell a difference.

Excellent grip invariably means more rolling resistance.

Give me grip every time. I can feel the difference when I put something a bit faster on the back in the summer, but on the front, I'm happy to push a good compound Assegai around the place just for the confidence of not having to worry about it regardless of how much extra weight it might be (and in reality, we all worry about weight too much anyway)

I can feel the tyre pressure difference, but I pump tyres every ride so never really ride with anything other than my settings. 

As someone who is utterly rubbish off road, even I can tell the difference in tyres. Something nice and grippy makes a huge difference and helps to compensate for lack of talent, even at the pedestrian speeds I ride at

Weeksy, I’m sure you’re subconsciously feeling the difference in tyres, you just haven’t NOTICED it. I swear tyres (tread pattern, compound, casing and pressure) matter way more than anything else in mountain biking and anyone riding near the limit will notice a difference in a blind test if they actually focus on it.

My ‘pace’ is my pace, irrespective of what i’ve got on there really

There's your answer. I can't really tell the difference these days because I don't ride as much and when I do it is generally a medium paced pootle round Swinley. I don't think I push the bike or myself enough to notice any change other than fitness levels. In contrast, when I used to ride everything as fast as I could I was very sensitive to tyres. It would take me weeks or months to build confidence in a new tyre.

All my tyres are similar width and look very much like a minion (even though not made by maxxis)

So in that respect theres not much difference

I definitely notice less supportive sidewalls, especially on rear of hardtail!

But high grip compounds make a huge difference

Im sure theres loads of rubbish talked about tread patterns, damping, etc  but Sticky rubber is king 

you can learn to ride any tread pattern ime, but theres no substitute for sticky compounds

2.6 butchers on front of both bikes one is T7, other T9t

he grippier T9 is a great when riding in the edge (of my ability)

Pretty much every ride we do atm will have some off camber roots somewhere. And maybe some limestone.

Tyres definitely make a big difference on them

Tyres are the black knobbly and a bit squidgy tubes that go on the edge of the wheels, right?

On the same bike, Minions vs 'old' Nobby Nics - the Minions have far better grip and more predictable, but are much more draggy. The Nobby's are good for XC and distance as they roll well, but I find they let go on off camber when it's muddy - the old ones have the knobbles in a 'line' across the width of the tyre,  so once they slide sideways they are going.

“My ‘pace’ is my pace, irrespective of what i’ve got on there really”

I guess if you never run out of grip then you might never feel a difference. I ride natural trails 99% of the time and the available grip varies a lot, so even if I try to ride at the same speed all year round I’ll run out of grip when it’s dry and loose or wet and muddy (you can only ride our local trails at full speed for a very small proportion of the year).

Interesting thread. I can't tell much difference. I remember everyone talked about HR's killing people. Can't say I ever noticed. I didn't die. The only time I felt a difference was my previous Giant Reign came with standard Hans Dampfs on it. They were brutal, zero grip on rock. They actually felt dangerous to me. Got rid. I can tell a little bit of difference in big enough pressure changes.

I am not sure I can. I tell myself I can but I think I am just blaming the tyres for my lack of skill. Having a slow day…..it’s the tyres they are too draggy. Front end washes out it’s the tyres…..not the pressure/ground condition or lack of skill. Same for the rear. Have a great day…..it’s the tyres they are great. Etc etc. If I change tyres and the new ones feel so much better than those they replaced it’s probably because the old ones were getting worn so obviously the new ones are better.
I reckon most average riders won’t see much difference in decent tyres as long as they are not running an xr1 in slop or a muddy Mary in a trail centre.

the next ‘what tyre’ thread can be answered with ‘whatever you want because most of us cannot tell the difference’.

My ‘pace’ is my pace, irrespective of what i’ve got on there really, that’s how fast i went, just me speed.

The answer is I think that you've never really pushed it, otherwise you'd know...

but for the life of me, they just feel the same to me.. i don’t think any have more/less grip, bite, feel… but i dunno… Maybe i can’t tell the difference.

Ride harder. 

Ride harder.

Why didn't i think of that... i'll just got 50% faster next time...

Jeez.

The answer is I think that you’ve never really pushed it, otherwise you’d know…

Yeah that'll be it..

@stcolin

I had an HR2 on the front of my hardtail a few years back, was happy with it

as posted above I chucked it on my full sus for the summer, I was also happy for most of my riding, until I went somewhere steep, damp, rooty and loamy and I totally noticed the difference between that an a DHF, that tyre I shall call a trail tyre going forwards, damp roots was the decider that it should never go back on the front of a bike where i might ride in all sorts of conditions

“Why didn’t i think of that… i’ll just got 50% faster next time…

Jeez.”

What we’re meaning is don’t slow down as much before a corner. Then you will run out of grip. Then you will notice the difference between tyres!

I could tell straight away if I liked a tyre or not. Some only lasted one ride before being chucked on the tyre pile at the back of the shed! 🙂

Tell me you're a bimbler workout telling me you're a bimbler.

What we’re meaning is don’t slow down as much before a corner. Then you will run out of grip. Then you will notice the difference between tyres!

For someone who spends so much time racing you would think this information was unnecessary. 

DHF vs MM leaning right over in the corner? These are both popular and very good tyres but feel very different indeed on their edges.

Having ridden FOD with Weeksy once before he’s not a bimbler (unless I am - some may argue I am) - on the straight / rocky / rooty bits he was fast in a straight line (e.g parts of Sheepskull) - but perhaps braked a bit hard for the corners so could carry a little more speed there. But I think that was last year or the year before (pre Fuel Ex / Slayer / Fuel Ex) and it sounds like he’s going faster now!

I was reading a bit about what pressures the Enduro racers were running and they were all higher than my 20/22, so thought i’d experiment with higher pressures.

Never follow the pros in an area like this. They are hitting everything at twice the speed of mere mortals and are therefore forced to run higher pressures to stop the sidewalls collapsing (and the associated punctures, tyres rolling off the rim, etc). See also - pro suspension setup.

If you've got spare time, go out and play with the extremes. Do a short run/section with really low pressures, then another with really high. At least one of them will be absolutely terrifying

I think I’ve broadly settled on around 23 psi at both ends for tyre pressures on both my bikes. If I’m going somewhere like Dyfi I bump it up a couple of psi, if I’m riding somewhere steeper / slower and muddy / slippery then I’m down to 18 front / 20 rear to sniff out some more grip. That 18 psi on the front on something like a magic Mary or hillbilly really makes a difference.

Yes, to an extent.

Things like "feel", rolling resistance, weight are easy enough to have an objective opinion on, they're things you can get an handle on on any ride in any weather.

Grip is more subjective, it's either there under those conditions (trail, speed, angles, torque, etc) or it's not. So most opinions are "it's rubbish's at ......." and whether some one agrees or not is probably down to whether they've ridden the same tyre, in the same way, in the same conditions on the same trails. And unless you're either a pro getting fresh tyres every week, your slightly fuzzy recollection of how a Nobby Nick worked in October probably isn't that comparable now after a month of it being fairly worn out, to the Assegai you replaced it with in Febuary.

The answer is I think that you’ve never really pushed it, otherwise you’d know…

I think the reality is some people are more sensitive to tyres than others. I have mates who can ride round the quirks of particular tyres without really thinking about it, because, well, they don't really think about it. and they're good, instinctive riders Others who will notice the smallest nuances of particular tyres and get really het up about them.

As for grip, as with motorcycles, I'd rather have a tyre that gives way predictably and signals that it's about to do that rather than one that's actually outright grippier, but when it does go, does it suddenly and without any warning.

sounds like he’s going faster now

Yea, but alpin says he's a bimbler, so....

Never follow the pros in an area like this. They are hitting everything at twice the speed of mere mortals and are therefore forced to run higher pressures to stop the sidewalls collapsing

We were talking about this yesterday.

Steve Peat was running 40psi at Steel City.

My mate, who got 4th in the vets at the same race said that would feel awful to him

fast in a straight line

Maybe there's a correlation to not going round corners quickly and not noticing a difference in tyres..
I know it's an out there concept but there may be something in it.

I can't tell much difference between tyres.

I'm pretty sure that most people who claim to be able to tell the difference - can't.

If you think about it - claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.

It implies that the speaker is a more capable rider than the listener. That the speaker can detect the minor variations simply because they are more finely tuned than the listener. Hence people love to claim they can tell.

I work in the automotive industry and I'm surrounded by people like this - they make me mad/sad and disrespectful all at the same time :o)

Tell me you’re a bimbler workout telling me you’re a bimbler.

This comment plus the 'ride harder' comment all just prove my point - humble-braggers!!!!!

If you think about it – claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.

Or it could just mean you can tell the difference? You know, like different foods taste different. Personally I notice big differences - you know, like I can work out that a Racing Ralph and a DHR 2 have different levels of rolling resistance and grip or a Rock Razor is less good at braking on steep stuff than a Minion, but I'm less sensitive to the difference in outright grip between more similar tyres. I can tell that if you stick a Dissector on the front of bike, it lurches disconcertingly as you transition from the centre to the side knobs, particularly on firm surfaces, but it's really obvious. I'm not particularly sure any of that is 'humble bragging'.

I’m pretty sure that most people who claim to be able to tell the difference – can’t.
If you think about it – claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.

What a load of old pony.

Being able to tell whether your tyre is gripping or not is a basic MTB skill. You don't even have to be travelling that fast, it can be just as evident in slimy technical woodlands as it is railing super fast corners

I’m pretty sure that most people who claim to be able to tell the difference – can’t.

I'm curious whether you do much technical riding, especially in the wet?

Modern MTB tyres are so good and there are real differences between a dry conditions tyre and one designed to handle a bit of mud.

As others have said, changing the front tyre is really one of the most effective ways to change your bike's performance.

That's kind-of the opposite of us claiming to be super-discerning and sophisticated. It's obvious.

If you think about it – claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.

That swings both ways. I've met plenty quick "I just put some air in the tyres and ride, don't even know what I've got on" type folks

I’m curious whether you do much technical riding, especially in the wet?

I don't know how to equate the statement, i ride local, FoD, BPW, Pontpool, Hopton, Bringewood, woods, trails, whatever the conditions, at least once, twice maybe 3-4 times a week. What i class as technical, you may class as simple.

I'm too unfit to notice any difference in tyres. Well, except for the spare one 😳

I don’t know how to equate the statement, i ride local, FoD, BPW, Pontpool, Hopton, Bringewood, woods, trails, whatever the conditions, at least once, twice maybe 3-4 times a week. What i class as technical, you may class as simple.

I'm sure you're riding technical trails.

I was responding to JAG's hot take that we're all just bullshitting about tyres.

Ride harder.

Bought to you via the @Surfmatt school of forum baiting. 

@JAG - not about tyres, but about other things in mountain biking I agree.

I'm yet to be convinced that one particularly frame material feels different to another. Similarly bar diameter and material making much of a difference when I'm running a suspension fork.

When it comes to tyres on mountain bikes as others have said, it depends on circumstances.

Loads of people just pump their tyres up hard, don't check pressures and generally ride on grippy armoured surfaces. I'm not implying that this is you BTW. But yeah, those people aren't going to notice much difference between one tyre and another.

I think that in the media when they've got to create a story about products that are mostly basically good, it's very hard to differentiate one from another as long as it's not terrible, and this leads to some creative prose.

I’m pretty sure that most people who claim to be able to tell the difference – can’t.

Yep it's defo a humble brag from me that in the wet I really struggle on some trails with certain tyres but find life much easier with other tyres on the same trail.

It's probably me getting confused and it's more to do with if I'm wearing my lucky socks rather than the tyres making things better.

“If you think about it – claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.”

I’m horribly good at noticing pretty tiny differences with any gear I use - not just MTBs but musical instruments, audio gear, cooking stuff, tools, anything I do a fair bit of. It is both infuriating and also very useful because my musical instrument equipment business came about from that ability to notice things and then design better stuff.

But OMFG it is so annoying when something isn’t quite right on my bikes. And I have plenty of friends who either don’t notice or don’t care about their bikes having these issues and will corner faster, ride steep tech better and jump further than me despite that. And I think a lot of pros are like that - they’re so good at riding they can compensate for gear deficiencies.

I’ll never forget following a fast friend down a twisty muddy trail in filthy conditions and being pleased that I was just about keeping up with him. When we got to the end I noticed that he was riding on worn out summer tyres but I was on fresh sticky cut spikes…

Being able to tell whether your tyre is gripping or not is a basic MTB skill. You don’t even have to be travelling that fast, it can be just as evident in slimy technical woodlands as it is railing super fast corners

I'd agree, but then there's both the issue of knowing / interpreting what went wrong. And also some people are happier sliding around than others. A lot of people ride

e.g. I found fat bikes in general were incredibly predictable once sliding in mud, and would slide almost from walking pace. But when they went completely, they really went and threw you into the undergrowth at mach 1.

And some people are more comfortable with sliding around than others. If you live in the Peak then riding on gritstone is a very binary experience in terms of grip. If your local riding is some hillside in Sourthern England you're potentially far more used to sliding about in slop, chalk and roots.

I’m yet to be convinced that one particularly frame material feels different to another. Similarly bar diameter and material making much of a difference when I’m running a suspension fork.

A fork is just one part of the chain going from the ground to your arms. Pinkbike huck to flat videos are a great illustration of the how the forces go through the different parts involved, it's not as straightforward are you might expect and sooner or later those forces are transmitted through the bars (and the grips) and onto the rider.

BITD I used various combo's of Purgatory, Butcher, Fire XC, High Roller, Mountain King and my favourite Kenda Nevegal. Didn't really notice that much difference.

Then I got a pair of wheels that came with a Magic Mary and Hans Dampf. Game changer, miles more grip leading to more confidence in what I could do and what the bike could. After years of using them my only complaint was the Dampf could be quite draggy out back but that was rectified by the STW brains trust earlier this year and I now run a Nobby Nic. It's the Mary that makes the difference, superb tyre.

Just got an XC bike with less aggressive tyres and have had some hairy moments when I've pushed them a bit too far!

So yeah, even though I'm a pretty steady rider I can certainly tell a great tyre from a good one and realise it's horses for courses.

If you think about it – claiming you can tell the difference is a form of humble-brag.

soft compounds grip better than hard compounds on wet roots and greasy surfaces.  mud tyres grip better in mud. the old supergravity casings were very uncomfortable. stronger casings can be run at lower pressures. semislicks give away a lot of braking traction. 

these are things i’ve noticed. some of them could be placebo, some could be having confidence in the compound or tread to not slow down as much. 

claiming that you can’t tell a difference between tyres is also a humble brag. “i’m so good i can ride any tyre fast” sort of thing. the only way to really tell is with timing data, but then you’d need to be the kind of rider who can ride consistently. some days i ride very badly and it has nothing to do with the tyres. 

Just been out on the new spesh tyres, better in the mud, less gliding over more bite and they dig in quicker. Butcher t9 draggy on back but pretty good for braking/cornering in the filth so worth the trade off plus it will get me fitter. Even if it is just a placebo my tiny brain thinks it was worth the £80 spent.

I found tyres were all much of a muchness in the past. There was the too soft Specialized on the rear, which squirmed like a horrible squirmy thing and the Bontrager MudX 1.8 which really worked in the wet, I mean even gripped on wet roots!
Then one day I was in an Evans and noticed a FAT square knobbed thing, like some shrunk-down MX tyre on the front wheel of a display bike... checked it... "Schwalbe Magic Mary" eh? Must try one of those. Now that was a revelation, even the noise it made hitting berms was different and lovely shrrrllppp (I think that's how you spell it). But the confidence in grip when leaning the bike at speed was like nothing else. A few tyres have almost caught up, but you can't beat a Mary on the front. Well, I've yet to try a Dinosaur themed one that that Bristol fella started a thread about.
Am I really that passionate about a tyre?? Crazy, man.

I’m yet to be convinced that one particularly frame material feels different to another. Similarly bar diameter and material making much of a difference when I’m running a suspension fork.

I can't agree with a word of that.

As for tyres... all depends where you ride... in some places the difference between compounds with a front tyre, even in the same tyre pattern and size from the same manufacturer, is bloody huge. And if you can't tell the difference between a semi-sick and full tread rear tyre on your local trails when the weather changes... well, time to buy a gravel bike.

Agree that for general trail riding in the dry, I'd not be able to really tell the difference with some tyres, especially when you add tyre pressures, rim widths and whether an insert was fitted into the equation.

Some folk just don't feel anything IME,  my pal swapped from Marathons to slicks and didn't notice the difference 🤷‍♂️